Nathan Fillion Battled Slimy Creatures in Slither
Written: Oct 07 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Entertaining, fun movie. Fillion.
Cons: Campy at times. Some gross things.
The Bottom Line: Slither was a bit campy and gross at times but it was very entertaining and worth watching for fans of horror movies.
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| dragonfire88's Full Review: Slither |
I never really liked horror movies when I was younger. I eventually saw a few, some better than others. In 2006, I saw previews for a new horror movie, Slither, that did look interesting. My interest in the movie grew after I discovered that Nathan Fillion was in it. I had really liked Fillion in Firefly and Serenity. I was only recently able to see the movie.
Some kind of meteorite landed outside the small town of Wheelsy. A day or so later, Grant Grant, the richest man in town, came across it when he was out in the woods with Brenda, a woman he’d picked up in a bar after his wife Starla wasn’t in the mood. A small living thing jumped out and got into Grant’s body, taking control. Grant immediately started acting different. Before long, everyone knew something was very wrong with Grant. The police, led by Bill Pardy, were looking for him. Bill also happened to have feelings for Starla, Grant’s wife. Things got even more complicated when slug like creatures turned up and people started turning into zombie like creatures.
Slither was different from many of the newer horror type of movies that have been released in the last several years. It seems like since Saw came out and was very popular, there have been all kinds of movies released that followed the same basic idea of a person or even group of people being kidnaped or trapped in some way and then being put through some sort of torture by someone else. That doesn’t sound appealing to me, so I haven’t seen those movies. When I do watch a horror or scary movie, I prefer movies that deal with monsters or ghosts or even characters like Freddie, Jason, or Michael. It did seem like the movie was paying tribute to some of the older horror or monster movies. This movie did remind me a bit of Tremors, so people that liked that movie or other similar movies should give this one a chance. Things around town were actually named after characters from several older horror movies, including Tremors.
I thought that Slither was very entertaining even though it wasn’t that complicated. It wasn’t completely clear exactly what was in the meteorite, but I was sure it wasn’t good. I also wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with Grant for a while. The only thing I was sure of was that it was bad and it was more than likely going to cause a lot of problems and impact many people around town. Certain things that happened were predictable even when some of the things leading up to the predictable part were unexpected. There were a few small surprises here and there in the movie without there being any big, major shocks or surprises. I didn’t think there was a lot of suspense in the movie, so people looking for a suspenseful movie may want to look for something else to watch.
Slither combined humor with the elements of horror in a way that I thought worked very well for the movie. That combination was something else that reminded me of Tremors since that movie did the same thing. The humor was a bit corny at times which did make the movie rather campy at times. I wasn’t bothered by that and thought it actually helped make the movie more entertaining. The movie isn’t for everyone and some will more than likely feel it is too campy. Bill said several things that had me laughing throughout the movie. The way he reacted to the horrific things going on around him was really very funny. Other characters also said and did things that added humor. Jack MacReady, the mayor, clearly had no idea how to deal with what was going on and he flipped out more than once. The funniest was probably when he had a fit because his favorite soft drink wasn’t waiting in Bill’s car after he had barely escaped the zombies.
There really wasn’t that much violence in the movie. When Grant first changed, he didn’t do anything that violent. As the movie progressed, that changed and people were attacked. Several things were a bit gross, but it wasn’t too bad. There were a few monsters shown as well as the zombie like people and some gore was included in scenes with the monsters. The movie wouldn’t have worked without the gory, gross things. People that are bothered by those types of things should pick a different movie. There was some action, mostly when Bill was trying to deal with what was going on. The make up effects used for the different monsters and characters was very impressive and worked with the special effects. The movie did deserve the R rating and isn’t something for children to see. There was also a lot of swearing, including many uses of the word that rhymes with luck.
Bill Pardy was the chief of police and in love with Starla. He was frequently teased about that because everyone in town seemed to know how he felt. He was laid back most of the time and managed to keep from panicking when all the weird things started happening around town. I loved Nathan Fillion in the part. He handled the part perfectly. The way he delivered some of his lines, usually the funnier ones, really reminded me of Mal, the character he played in Firefly and Serenity. People that liked him in those should give this movie a chance.
Not much about Grant was shown before he was changed. He didn’t seem like a bad guy, though he was quick to storm off and pick up another woman when his wife wasn’t in the mood. She quickly started acting very different, though enough of Grant remained that remembered the feelings he had for Starla. Michael Rooker was fine in the part. Starla was younger than her husband and some around town thought she married Grant just for his money. Elizabeth Banks handled the part really well, including some more emotional scenes. She is probably most known for the small part she had in The 40 Year Old Virgin. She also had small parts in the Spider-Man movies and a slightly larger part in Invincible.
Jack had a tendency to swear up a storm even in front of children. He didn’t handle problems or stress very well and he was on the verge of flipping out more than once after everything started happening. Gregg Henry was really good in the part. Kylie was a teenage girl that managed to fight off one of the creatures before joining the others. There really wasn’t much development for her. Rob Zombie provided the voice for Dr. Carl, a character who was only heard over the phone in one scene. Jenna Fischer turned up in a few scenes as Shelby, a somewhat dingy woman that worked in the police station.
Main Cast
Elizabeth Banks - Starla Grant
Nathan Fillion - Bill Pardy
Jenna Fischer - Shelby
Gregg Henry - Jack MacReady
Michael Rooker - Grant
Tania Saulnier - Kylie
James Gunn - Writer and Director
DVD Information
Slither is available on either a widescreen or full screen DVD. The DVD included several extras that were entertaining to watch. A commentary by the director and Nathan Fillion is available. There were eight deleted scenes that could be watched with commentary by the director. One of the scenes was more of an alternate version of a scene that was in the movie. There were also four extended scenes with optional commentary by the director. The extra footage in the scenes really didn’t seem to add anything, so I can see why the scenes were made shorter. The visual effects step by step showed the progression of the effects used in some scenes without there being any kind of explanation for how the effects were done. It did look like computers were used for the effects. Slithery Set Tour With Nathan Fillion had the actor walking around the set with a video camera talking to some of the people involved in the movie. It was entertaining even though it wasn’t really informative.
Who is Bill Pardy? featured some of the cast and crew talking about Nathan Fillion. It seemed to be part of a running joke that started on set where Fillion would resort to saying I am Bill Pardy at different times. It seemed like the cast and crew had fun working together. There was a gag reel that did include some very funny moments. The Sick Minds and Slimy Days of Slither featured the director as well as some of the cast and crew talking about the movie and how it was made. Gunn talked about how he was a fan of horror movies from the 1980's. It was very interesting. Gorehound Grill had one of the men working on special effects showing how people could make blood at home out of out common items.
Bringing Slither’s Creatures to Life showed how the different monsters and creatures were created for the movie. This part did explain how different visual effects were created. There was a mix of using computer generated things as well as prosthetics and puppets. That combination worked very well for the movie and made the extreme things happening seem believable. Michael Rooker had to spend hours in makeup because of the way the appearance of his character changed over the course of the movie. King of Cult: Lloyd Kaufman’s Video Diary showed how Kaufman spent his time on the set. Kaufman is known for making the movie The Toxic Avenger and Gunn worked with him on different movies in the past. Kaufman had a small part in the movie though his one line was cut. The extras were very enjoyable and entertaining.
Slither wasn’t the type of movie that I usually watch but I ended up really enjoying it. The movie had a mix of humor and horror that made the movie very entertaining. Fans of this type of movie should give it a chance. People who liked Nathan Fillion in Firefly or Serenity should also give the movie chance.
This review is part of CaptainD’s Good Movie Write Off.
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: DVD
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